NORTHRIDGE “”mdash; In ideal conditions over the warm weekend, the No. 7 women’s track and field team scorched the track, and by the end of the two-day West Region Championships, 10 athletes had earned spots at the upcoming NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.
Although Arizona State dominated the team scoring with 114 points, the Bruins came in second at 87.5 with a flourish of individual performances at the West Regional Championships at Northridge’s Matador Track and Field Complex.
“It was good to see the girls not let their loss against ‘SC and their loss at Pac-10s affect them into regionals,” coach Jeanette Bolden said. “I’m glad knowing everyone knows we may not have had the depth but we have the quality. The quality of my team showed up here.”
Junior Nicole Leach had quality all-around performances, anchoring the 4×400-meter relay team to a regional crown and leaving no doubt why she is the reigning NCAA champion in the 400m hurdles.
“The goal is to get to nationals pretty comfortable, so I think I did that pretty well,” said Leach, who ran 55.47 in her race, more than three seconds ahead of her nearest competitor. “The bigger meets are soon to come. Every time I run, I’m going to run it like it was some type of Olympic trial.”
The 4x400m team of senior Merice Wisdom, junior Krystin Lacy, sophomore Krishna Curry, and Leach moved into the nation’s top 10 with a time of 3:32.82.
Curry also had an impressive day as she ran 2:04.70 to a new lifetime-best for the second straight meet and to No. 4 on the UCLA list. She finished third in the 800m and earned the automatic bid to nationals.
The Bruins will be sending three jumpers to the national championships. Rhonda Watkins, Renee Williams, and Keneisha Creary all punched their tickets for Iowa.
Watkins, a junior who placed fourth in the long jump (20 feet, 5.25 inches) will look to defend her national title from last year. Creary, a senior heptathlete, earned a fifth-place finish in the high jump at 5-9.25. Williams will double in two events at nationals after her second-place finish in the long jump (20-9.25) and third-place finish in the triple jump (42-11.50).
“It’s what I wanted to do, to finish up at UCLA doing both events that I’ve been doing over the years,” said Williams, a redshirt senior going to her second straight nationals. “I feel my momentum is getting better.”
Another senior athlete who earned two spots at the NCAA Championships is Jolanda Diego. Diego finished second in the 200m (23.40) and third in the 100m (11.50).
Several newcomers earned lifetime bests and will make their first trip to nationals. Three freshmen and a walk-on junior automatically qualified.
In the 100m hurdles, freshman Lindsay Rowe ran a personal best of 13.53 to place third.
Freshmen Tori Pena and Tori Anthony and junior Katy Viuf will represent the pole vault squad at nationals. Pena was the top finisher for the Bruins in third place at 13-7.75 while Viuf cleared the same height and placed fourth based on misses. Both earned lifetime bests.
After sitting out the past few weeks with mononucleosis, Anthony came in tenth at 12-11.75. She is likely to earn an at-large bid because she holds the No. 7 mark in the nation.
I’ve never had three pole vaulters go (to nationals),” pole vault coach Anthony Curran said. “With the heights they made, this is the best vault squad in the nation by far.”
Notably missing from the group was senior Ingrid Kantola, the 2008 Pac-10 champion and two-time All-American. Kantola, who came in ranked No. 3 in the country finished 14th and is not eligible for an at-large bid to nationals.
“It hurts not having Ingrid there,” Bolden said. “She’s just a team player and such an enthusiastic person and motivation to everybody. Her presence will definitely be missed.”
A couple athletes are still on the bubble waiting to see if they qualify for the championships. Senior Allison Miller and sophomore Tara Ross hope to compete in the high jump and javelin, respectively.
With two weeks left in the NCAA season, the Bruins will have their eyes set on bringing home UCLA’s 104th NCAA team championship, along with a few individual titles.
“I’m just happy and ready to go into nationals and continue this roll we are on,” Bolden said. “Right now it’s about quality, and we have the quality kids.”